The World's Ruin
by Hikaru Irving
Summary: Four years after the Adephagos is vanquished, things are going well for the Empire and the guilds. Quite suddenly, the capital is attacked, and Flynn is flung into a desperate quest to save humanity. The Great War has begun again, and the emperor is dead.


A/N: Meh, bored, putting off homework, and this needs to be posted.

Disclaimer: I am in way associated with Namco Bandai, nor do I make a material profit from this work. It is purely fan made fun.

Warnings: Will contain endgame spoilers for Vesperia.

--

There was an audible crash as Harry threw the anchor at the rocky shore. The giant piece of iron hooked into the shore of the Crystallands with a solid hold; Harry confirmed this as he yanked on the heavy metal chain. Watching by the gunwale, Flynn was silently surprised, but should not have been. Harry was Whitehorse's grandson, after all, the entire family must have spent a fair time wielding heavy objects that any other person would have the utmost difficulty in attempting to lift. As Harry took the wooden ramp to lay on shore for disembarking, Flynn looked down into his open palm, the deep crimson ruby set in dusky gold catching the sunlight in a beautiful display of colors in its facets. His frown fell even deeper.

The brooch belonged to His Highness Ioder; it was the one he always wore fastened at his collar. On the gold back there were words engraved in calligraphy: _In commemoration of our pact and offers of friendship._ Unbidden, a river of memories concerning Ioder flooded Flynn's mind, from the time the Imperial Knights began supporting him as candidate for the throne to the actual coronation ceremony of his becoming the next Emperor. Ioder was Estellise's age, perhaps even younger. Flynn knit his brow together, deep blue sapphire eyes lost in the glimmer of the brooch.

_He was so damn young._

Four years had passed since the vanquishing of the Adephagos. Things had been going very well for both the Empire and the guilds. The Empire had Ioder as its new Emperor, a fresh young ruler with new ideas. The perfect one to spearhead the people into this new age devoid of blastia. The guilds had not yet chosen a new Don, but the Union was managing the guilds pretty well nonetheless. At the very least, the guilds and Empire weren't ready to rip out each other's throats.

Flynn's own career as Commandant of the Imperial Knights was also going along swimmingly. Some of the changes he had so arduously worked for were coming true thanks to Emperor Ioder. Corrupt officials had begun to get routed out, and even some commoners deemed fit for the position had been chosen to hold certain offices. He also had to constantly think of ways to improve the Imperial Knights, and upon reading a letter from Estellise, was inspired. She had read in a book about the ways previous Emperors had waged war, and one Emperor had won a war because he had a powerful cavalry; a mounted force.

The Imperial Knights had no true cavalry, the closest thing they had to that presently was the Captains and Commandants of the Knights having horses of their own. So Flynn devoted an entirely new brigade to cavalry, and he appointed Sodia as Captain of that brigade. She was the most skilled rider Flynn knew.

Shortly after that, the unthinkable happened. It was late, the night of a full moon. For the Empire, and particularly its capital, the full moon was a symbol of good omen for the reason the Imperial family was made up of the descendants of the Children of the Full Moon in ancient times. Zaphias, the Imperial Capital, had been called the bedrock of peace within the Empire.

The irony of that statement could not have been greater that night.

Even now Flynn remembered the tremors, the flames, the chaos as the city seemed to literally collapse in upon itself. He had been in the entrance hall when the attack began. A huge dragon giganto monster with glistening black scales and piercing granite grey eyes had broken into the castle through the gigantic stained glass window. Flynn tried to fight it, but he was clipped by its whip-like tail, and fell unconscious. When he awoke, the city was completely in ruins. Giganto monsters ran rampant around the ruins, tearing survivors apart, trampling on dead bodies. Flynn had run further into the ruins of the castle, with one goal in mind.

He found Ioder in what remained of the throne room, which wasn't much. Debris filled the open chamber, and Flynn had to climb over chunks of the ceiling in order to get to the Emperor. Ioder was lying at the foot of the throne, pale, his breathing labored. When Flynn finally reached Ioder's side, he saw that almost the entirety of Ioder's shoulder was torn from his body. The Knight tried to heal the Emperor, but Ioder stopped him: "I cannot feel or move my arm. I doubt you could even staunch the bleeding, Commandant."

Flynn had protested. "But there must still be something I can do!"

Ioder only shook his head, his turquoise eyes unnaturally gaunt for a young man. He had unfastened his brooch and dropped it in Flynn's hands.

"Find Aurum ..." He said. "And stop Ironwing."

"Highness, I-I don't understand--!"

"Of course you don't! But you will ... in time."

With a slight smile upon his face, Emperor Ioder died.

That wasn't the end of it. While Flynn led the Knights in search of survivors, he found the Lower Quarter completely demolished. Not one resident remained alive, unless they had managed to escape. Judging by the amount of ruin the giganto monsters had wreaked, Flynn doubted it. Hanks, Ted, everyone ... everyone was gone. Dead.

Those that survived (half the Council, most of the Knights, and a handful of citizens, noble and commoner alike) went with Flynn as he led them in a procession away from the ruins of the capital. Those that had family in other Imperial cities made for them, those that didn't joined the Knights. As there was no other recourse at this point, Flynn headed for Dahngrest to ask the Union for help.

The Union was wary of the Knights, but it was obvious they weren't any threat, so they allowed the Knights to stay in Dahngrest for the time being. Flynn was immensely relieved. Over his stay in Dahngrest, the guilds were constantly being flooded with other refugees who were also attacked by hordes of giganto monsters. It was almost as if the attacks were being masterminded by someone.

When Flynn inquired into the Union about this possibility, Whitehorse's grandson Harry had come to him. Flynn showed him Ioder's brooch at Harry's request, and after that the blond man had taken him on a voyage to the Erealumen Crystallands. The Commandant knew this must have something to do with Ioder's final words, and had accompanied the Don's grandson without much of a fuss.

The ocean roared on the Crystalland shore, pieces of the translucent gems crumbling and falling into the gaping maw of the ocean every time it pounded upon the island. The day the whole of the Crystallands was swallowed up by the sea was far off, though, so Flynn put it out of his mind as he followed Harry. There were monsters here as well, evolved to match the crystalline environments. How did these monsters sustain themselves? No plants grew here; not all of the monsters were carnivores. Perhaps they consumed the aer crystals.

Harry was a rather talented fighter; he used the late Don's sword. It was a gigantic weapon that was impossible for any other person to wield, Flynn thought. But it served Harry well enough as they carved their way across the Crystallands. Before long they came to a cavern, the late afternoon sunlight casting splayed lights and shadows in the cave's mouth. Flynn didn't hold any special fondness for caves; they reminded him of the Weasand of Cados.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the cavern, the clinking of shattered crystal formations under their feet ringing in their ears. The ruby brooch burned like a white-hot brand against the skin of Flynn's hand, through his gauntlet. The engraving on the back of the jewel came to him once more. What sort of pact had Ioder made, with whom, and what for? It must have been of vital importance to Ioder and whomever else was involved. Deeper in the crystal cavern they went, cutting down crystal walls or monsters whenever they needed to.

"Do you know something about this, Mr. Whitehorse?"

"It's Harry."

"Harry. Do you?"

"Yeah, I know a smidgeon. I was with Ioder at that time, prospective heirs to two of the most powerful people in the world, you know."

"There must be a particular reason to come to the Crystallands."

"Yes, there is. This is the safest place for him, after all."

"Him? Was it whoever His Highness spoke of ...?"

They came into a wider part of the cavern, deep red aer the color of blood filling the chamber, ankle-deep. It wasn't any more solid than a cloud of mist, the way it swirled around their feet as they walked. There wasn't as much aer in the world since Rita put into action her plan to convert aer to mana, not even in the aer krene, but this much aer gathered in a single place still made Flynn slightly dizzy. Harry led Flynn to the center of the chamber, particles of crimson aer floating up to the high crystal ceiling.

"Now take the brooch," Harry said, "and recite what's written on it."

Flynn turned the brooch over to the back, the gold gleaming in the aery light.

"In commemoration," he said, Ioder's voice reading those words filling his head, "of our pact, and offers of friendship."

The ground rumbled, shaken by unseen tremors. A wall before them, looking lighter in color and relatively newer compared to the older layers of crystal, trembled. There was a shadow within its depths, and in the pit of Flynn's stomach struck fear. He and Harry covered their faces with their arms as the crystal wall before them exploded, the multitude of shards flying every which way. Flynn swallowed the lump in his throat, resisting the urge to draw his sword. Harry hadn't drawn his own, after all. If Harry wasn't going to attack, neither would he.

From the depths of destroyed wall of crystal emerged a most amazing sight that awed Flynn even more profoundly than the first time he had seen Halure's tree blossoms in full bloom. A great majestic creature walked before them, bigger than most giganto monsters. It had four legs, a triangular head with a long, serpentine neck, horns, neck spikes all along its back, a long tail that tapered at the end, ivory rows of razor sharp teeth, saber claws, huge leathery wings folded against its sides. Its scales shone a radiant white gold, and its eyes a bright yellow golden hue. This was no monster ... it was intelligent.

A dragon.

Harry smiled fondly, as if meeting with an old friend. He gave a deep bow of the utmost respect.

"Hello there, Aurum."

"Aurum?" Flynn repeated, jaw slack. "This is who His Highness Ioder wanted me to find?" He jumped when the dragon, Aurum, turned his head to look at him, eyes boring into his very soul.

"You know Master Ioder?" He asked, his deep voice echoing in booms throughout the cavern. His molten gold eyes flickered to the brooch Flynn held in his open palm, Ioder's brooch. A frown pulled at his lips. "Why hasn't Master Ioder come himself to validate the pact? Whitehorse's child has come, yes ... but what of Master Ioder?"

Flynn's grip tightened on the brooch. "He--" His throat hitched, unable to convey the words. He swallowed, brow knit together. "His Highness Ioder ... has passed away."

Aurum bowed his head, eyes dipping closed for a moment. "I see. Such a shame ... he was a great man. Would that he were born of my own race and not suffered such an early grave."

"That is quite the honor," Harry said, his eyes glimmering sadly, "for Belius said the same of my grandfather."

Flynn's eyes went wide, incredulous. "Aurum ... is an Entelexeia?"

"I am no beast." Aurum snorted, a puff of smoke accompanying the gust of air. "What else would I be?"

"I thought ... that few Entelexeia remained."

"After the Great War," Aurum began, sitting up tall so that he appeared to fill the entirety of the chamber, "many of us were wary of the humans that remained. Our leader was killed when he turned his back on the humans he trusted. I stood in his place, to make a pact of friendship with the heirs of the two of the most powerful humans on Terca Lumireis."

In Flynn's memory was Yuri, telling of the adventure four years ago. The reason Duke had aligned himself with the Entelexeia, and despised humanity ... He gulped down the lump in his throat.

"Elucifur was your leader." He said. Aurum slowly nodded.

"In the Great War, there were two factions of Entelexeia. The one led by Elucifur that advocated living beside humanity, and the other that advocated wiping out humanity completely. That other faction is the main reason the Great War was so destructive. It was led by an Entelexeia not unlike myself, named Ironwing."

Flynn blinked, Ioder's dying breath coming back to him. "His Highness told me to stop Ironwing."

"Ironwing," Harry said, drawing the attentions of Aurum and Flynn, "is only like you in shape, Aurum." At Flynn's confused expression, he elaborated. "Ironwing is a dragon Entelexeia, but he has black scales. His horns, teeth, and claws are metal, as are his wing tips. One of his favorite methods of cutting down human armies was to swath the field with his wings, the metal wing tips slicing troops. That's how he got his name. His true, proper name ... no one knows."

Or if they do, Flynn found himself thinking, they didn't wish to share it. His heart skipped a few beats, and he jolted, as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Memory came alive in his eyes, of standing in the castle entrance hall, the stained glass window exploding in thousands of sharp fragments, the full moon and its silver light completely blocked out by a creature perched in the window. A dragon with glistening black scales. He remembered how its wing tips gleamed in the moonlight, like metal. Like iron.

"Ironwing." Flynn said, surprised. "Ironwing attacked the Zaphias castle."

"I suspected as much," Aurum replied, gravely. "The Entelexeia have been awakening."

Flynn quirked a brow, confused. "Awakening? What do you mean?"

"Ah, that's right." Harry said, folding his arms. "We never explained that. After the Great War ..."

Aurum picked up where Whitehorse's grandson left off. "Many, many Entelexeia remained. Ironwing wanted war. With Elucifur gone, he could subdue his followers and then proceed to wipe out humanity. It took a great amount of power, but my allies and I succeeded in putting him in suspended animation."

"Suspended animation?" Flynn echoed, brow furrowed.

"Hibernation," Harry supplied.

Aurum nodded. "Yes. When that was done, most of the Entelexeia went underground, often literally. We hibernated, awaiting a time when the blight of the skies--the Adephagos--was gone, and humanity ready to live together with us again."

"The Adephagos is gone," Flynn said, "but I'm not sure if we're ready to coexist." That hadn't worked so well fourteen years ago. There was also the matter of most of the Entelexeia undergoing spirit conversion. How would the newly wakened Entelexeia, thrusted into a strange new era, feel about that? Their brethren died before they became spirits. Aurum gave a small, annoyed, flick of his tail.

"We didn't choose when to awake. Only groundbreaking events will wake us. And wake we did. Master Ioder, Whitehorse's child, and I made a pact of alliance: if Ironwing woke and waged war against humanity, the Entelexeia aligned with me would fight Ironwing."

Flynn slowly nodded, clutching the brooch in his hands. "We thought that they were giganto monsters ... but they're ..."

"You were half correct." Aurum said softly. "Giganto monsters are juvenile Entelexeia. The rest ... are merely our descendants, regressed for aer contamination."

Flynn knew what he had thought was right. Something, someone was masterminding the attacks on the cities--Ironwing, the black dragon Entelexeia. The Adephagos was gone, the overall aer in the world reduced to safe levels ... there was no more reason for Ironwing to destroy humanity. But Aurum's golden eye was hard. As if he had read Flynn's thoughts, he said gravely,

"Who is to say that humanity won't cause something like that again?"

"Aurum--" Flynn stepped toward the golden dragon, a question on the tip of his tongue.

"Flynn, wait--" Harry said, reaching toward the Imperial Knight.

There was a brilliant flash of white light, like a Vanji Lost arte, and what appeared to be a great bolt of lightning connecting Flynn's and Aurum's bodies. There was pain, searing, burning pain throughout every nerve in his body. Sapphire eyes wide, Flynn was too shocked to even scream. He fell to his knees, shaking. Exactly three seconds passed before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Aurum lasted a little longer. He crouched on the ground, heaving for breath, pale leathery wings dragging on the crystal earth underfoot, gold eyes fixed on the Knight before him. He glanced at Harry uncertainly before he, too, passed out, the collapsing of his body shaking the aer krene.

Harry had fallen backward in the resulting tremor, jaw slack, eyes wide open.

"What--"

But he knew exactly what had happened. Fourteen years ago, during the Great War, a Krityan man had told him of something, an ancient work of magic intended to strengthen the ties that bound humanity and Entelexeia. In formulas inscribed upon their very beings, Entelexeia at any time may fuse their souls with a compatible human, becoming two hearts in one body, different sides of the same being. This lost arte, inspired by the Children of the Full Moon and their innate abilities to manipulate aer ... it was impossible to determine who was and wasn't compatible with which Entelexeia, or the circumstances that it occurs.

Harry couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. The first time a human and an Entelexeia Bonded for centuries. The words engraved on the back of Ioder's brooch came to him.

_"In commemoration,"_ He said quietly,_ "of our pact, and offers of friendship."_

--

Flynn felt nothing short of awful. Every muscle he had in his body ached terribly, and he was sore and stiff all over. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. Slowly, he opened his eyes. The vast blue skies of Terca Lumireis greeted him with a rich color to match his own eyes, the sunlight warming his skin as it touched him. He quirked a brow, confused--wasn't he in the caverns just now, in the aer krene? He sat up, groaning as his body protested. The stiffness was partly due to collapsing in full armor. But what happened? He was going to ask Aurum a question, then there was searing pain ... and nothing.

"You're awake."

Flynn turned; Harry sat upon a crystal rock near the mouth of the cave, a pipe clenched between his teeth. He looked tense, his eyes narrowed. Despite his youth, he bore a striking resemblance to the Don.

Whitehorse's child, indeed.

"Harry? What happened? Ow ..."

"Yeah, you might not want to move so suddenly. I heard it's painful."

Flynn froze, paralyzed. "What? What's painful? What happened back there, Harry?" He was fairly alarmed.

Like his late grandfather, Harry was blunt and did not bother beating around the bush.

"It's called Bonding."

Confused, Flynn echoed, "Bonding ... ?"

"Yeah. It's an ancient formula from the Geraios civilization intended to strengthen relations between humanity and the Entelexeia. An Entelexeia may Bond with a human at any time. No one knows how it works or when it'll happen, or to whom."

"So you're saying I just ... Bonded with Aurum?" Panic fluttered in Flynn's chest. "What happens when--" He fell silent at Harry's raised hand.

"The souls of the human and Entelexeia mix. You're a part of him, and he's a part of you. You're two hearts in one body, two sides of the same being."

Flynn paled, the feeling going from his limbs. "If something happened ..."

"If he dies, you die, and if you die, he dies."

" ... You sure don't pull any punches."

"Heh, sorry. But it's not like it's all bad. It's actually good news. This is the first Bonding we've had since the fall of the Geraios civilization."

Suspicious, Flynn asked, "If it's good, then why am I separated from Aurum?"

"I wanted to give both of you time to recuperate."

Flynn opened his mouth to speak, but just like the last time in the cave, something cut him off. In the crystal structure of the caves, there was a booming crash, and shining fragments of crystal flew everywhere. Into the skies launched a being with wings, the light bounding off its scaly body in white gold gleams. Aurum approached them from the air, flapping his wings as he lost altitude. Flynn and Harry's clothing whipped in the winds as the dragon landed.

Flynn and Aurum looked another in the eye, uncertain of what to say.

The Commandant didn't know how to feel, just like when Ioder died. But it was different. This didn't involve just someone else, this involved _him._ Intimately. He didn't think that Bonded pairs could share thoughts. If they could, Harry surely would've mentioned that. However, he was sure they could share feelings, particularly of pain, though of course he couldn't feel wings or a tail. He felt oddly heavy, though not in a physical way, and when he touched his skin, he could almost feel the hard edges of scales. He gulped down the lump in his throat.

The entire scope of his life had changed in a mere few seconds. And not just his. Aurum's life too, was irrevocably intertwined with Flynn's.

From that moment on, staring into pools of gold, Flynn knew he would never be truly alone again.


End file.
